Professional letters are a part of the business world and will come info play when applying for a job. Incorrectly formatting even one element of a letter can negatively impact your professional image or cost you a job interview. Formal business letters are made up of seven elements: the sender's address, date, inside address, salutation, body, closing and enclosures. Enclosure notations are an important part of communication because they can prevent the reader from overlooking an enclosed document.

Mentioning Enclosures Within the Letter

Making note of enclosures in the body of a letter brings them to the writer's attention. This mention also ties specific information in the letter to documentation in an enclosure. If you refer to your job experience in a cover letter, you might choose to mention that more information can be found on your attached resume. It is often necessary to mention enclosures specifically in a letter if there is more than one enclosure.

A Single Enclosure

If you are enclosing only one document, you may choose to simply note that there is an enclosure. Do this by skipping one line after the sender's typed name and typing "Enclosure." This method may or may not be used in combination with mentioning the enclosure in the letter. You may choose to refer to the enclosure in the body of the letter and explain what additional information can be found in the document.

Number of Multiple Enclosures

If there are multiple enclosures along with the letter, you may choose to reference how many enclosures are included. If there are three enclosures, you would do this by skipping one line after the sender's typed name and typing "Enclosures (3)." This method can also be used in combination with mentioning the enclosures within the letter. Listing the number of enclosures also assists the reader in confirming that he has received all of the included documentation.

Listing Enclosures

Whether one enclosure or multiple enclosures are included, you may choose to list specific enclosed material. Do this by skipping one line below the sender's typed name and typing "Enclosures" followed by a colon. Then list the first enclosure. Skip to the next line and list the second enclosure.